France's President Macron straps on gloves for boxing photoshoot

Where politicians once looked to project health and fitness with jogs in the park, martial sports like boxing have now gained the upper hand, with France's President Emmanuel Macron the latest to strap on gloves.

The 46-year-old was pictured on March 20 pounding a punching bag, forearms bulging, in images posted to the Instagram account of his official photographer Soazig de la Moissonniere.

"(Macron) is a technocrat having a go at the populist style, by trying to respond to (Russian President) Vladimir Putin on his own turf,” said Mr Philippe Moreau-Chevrolet, an expert in political communication.

The images follow weeks in which Mr Macron has defended his comments about not ruling out sending Nato troops to fight in Ukraine, invaded by the Russian leader more than two years ago.

President Putin has often sought to project physical prowess with judo or boxing bouts and a now infamous bare-chested horse riding excursion in 2009.

French voters were more used to seeing conservative former president Nicolas Sarkozy in a tracksuit or on his mountain bike, or 1970s leader Valery Giscard d'Estaing on the football pitch or the ski slopes.